that’s what frankie and I lovingly call these suckers. for the purposes of sounding fancy for the blog i included a couple ingredients in the name. clearly i’m the fanciest.

this is another one of those whole30 inspired recipes that i’m sending your way. because these are as “whole” as you can get without actually eating the nuts.

these came about because after the first week we needed something a little bit different to have as a “snack” and I thought to myself, why not take a long at my handy-dandy (<- i hate me too it’s okay) pinterest board. i’ve been relying on pinterest quite hard lately. not just for whole30 but also for running.

I saw a couple things that were similar to these popping up on my radar. like these. and these. and i thought to myself, i could totally make something like that with what i have. and BAM. these were born.

the real key is making sure you don’t treat them as a dessert or to fuel your sugar dragon. honestly, we rely on them when we need something QUICK – as in grab one out of the freezer and run out the door – and we’re on the move. they are NOT a meal – just a kind of tide-you-over for a bit type deal.

frankie likes to treat them like they’re dinner after being out drinking all night…… it doesn’t work, fyi.

what about the cast of ingredients in this round? super small list. super easy prep. super easy all around. i’m a fan. a BIG fan of anything this easy.

6 ingredients – including WATER which basically means FIVE ingredients. yeah. you know whats up.

the coconut was added, honestly, as a last minute decision on the whim. i was like i have it, let’s throw it in there! the cocoa and I had plans ahead of time though. I knew he was making an appearance because look at how BEAUTIFUL he is ^

someday i’ll stop talking about food like it’s a person. maybe.

SO BASICALLY. we’re letting gadgets do all the work – as it should be.

your food processor is taking the lead here and going to TOWN until you get this dough-like consistency. you might even see a sticky ball start to form in the middle, that means it’s done!

i generally make frankie help with this part^ he’s a pro at pressing these down for me now. it’s like the only thing he can do. the other day i taught him how to cut vegetables… and he didn’t lose a finger so that was a good learning experience.

these are tote-magotes no bake! you just blend em, have your boyfriend press them into a muffin tin, and then freeze baby! once they’re frozen i like to sprinkle mine with a little extra coconut/sea salt for effect. and. it. works. don’t omit that step!

then you pull them out of the tin stick them in a bag in the freezer until you hear your significant other whine – “can ‘we’ make nut bites this weekend??” every single day for a month. like every day.

first off, who’s we? you do nothing but press it down into the pan when i ask you to. secondly, STOP TREATING THEM LIKE DINNER AND I WONT CONSTANTLY BE BATTLING TO MAKE NUT BITES. sigh.

these little chocolatey bites of goodness are whole30 AND boyfriend approved. trust me.

Chocolate Coconut Bites

Author:Ashley Renee

Yield:24

Ingredients

2 cups pitted dates

1/8 cup warm water

1 cup cashews

1 cup hazelnuts

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and mix until there are no large chunks of nuts and the dates are almost at a paste-like consistency. It will look like a dough almost. I usually let my food processor run for about 2-3 minutes to get to this point. If it looks too crumbly, add a little more warm water and if that doesn’t fix it add more dates!

From here you have choices – you can scoop the mixture into mini-muffin tins and press down until it is really compact, you can roll the mixture into balls (if you’re super talented – i can’t get this way to work), or my personal favorite using a cookie scoop to get rounded tablespoons that I just plop onto a cookie sheet or muffin tin. Whichever way you choose, place the dough in a mini-muffin tin and freeze for at least 2 hours. If you pressed down on the dough to make the compact muffin shape, you’ll need a knife to wedge between the bite and the tin and pry it out.

Once frozen, sprinkle the top with a little additional unsweetened cocoa nut and (frankie’s personal fave) a little bit of sea salt!

Place in a ziplock bag and keep in your freezer for easy access if you’re eating them through the week.

Nutrition

Calories:2675

Sugar:211

Sodium:39

Fat:166

Saturated Fat:34

Unsaturated Fat:124

Trans Fat:0

Carbohydrates:307

Protein:52

Cholesterol:0

bonus tip: i’ve definitely subbed in the leftover pulp from my almond milk instead of cashews and hooooomg. yes. it gets a nice hint of vanilla and cinnamon and its SOOO good.